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The Atlantic: The Midterms Swept in a New Class of Black Politicians
The Midterms Swept in a New Class of Black Politicians
Most of the winners are under 40. And most seem likely to run for even higher offices down the line.
Edward-Isaac Dovere
Nov 10, 2018
(Barack Obama campaigning with Mandela Barnes, the new lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and one in a wave of young black candidates elected Tuesday Reuters)
Ben Jealous lost. Andrew Gillum is heading to a recount. Stacey Abrams is chasing legal challenges that might give her a second chance in a runoff. But a new generation of black politicians is already in place.
Tuesday saw the election of three new African American lieutenant governors, four new African American attorneys general, and seven new African American members of the House. (An eighth candidate, Steve Horsford, won back a seat he had previously held.) Other elections had reverberations lower down, like those of the 19 black women to county-judge spots in Texas, or that of the black woman who will now become the majority leader of the New York state Senate.
Most of these winners are under 40 years old. Most are the first African Americans elected to the jobs they now hold. And most seem likely to run for even higher offices down the line.
“We stand on this stage upon the shoulders of giants who had a vision that went beyond generations,” said Garlin Gilchrist II, the new lieutenant governor of Michigan, claiming victory on Tuesday night. “And it’s our generation’s responsibility to live up to that responsibility by having our imaginations exceed our expectations.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/black-candidates-who-clinched-house-and-state-races/575491/
Most of the winners are under 40. And most seem likely to run for even higher offices down the line.
Edward-Isaac Dovere
Nov 10, 2018
(Barack Obama campaigning with Mandela Barnes, the new lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and one in a wave of young black candidates elected Tuesday Reuters)
Ben Jealous lost. Andrew Gillum is heading to a recount. Stacey Abrams is chasing legal challenges that might give her a second chance in a runoff. But a new generation of black politicians is already in place.
Tuesday saw the election of three new African American lieutenant governors, four new African American attorneys general, and seven new African American members of the House. (An eighth candidate, Steve Horsford, won back a seat he had previously held.) Other elections had reverberations lower down, like those of the 19 black women to county-judge spots in Texas, or that of the black woman who will now become the majority leader of the New York state Senate.
Most of these winners are under 40 years old. Most are the first African Americans elected to the jobs they now hold. And most seem likely to run for even higher offices down the line.
“We stand on this stage upon the shoulders of giants who had a vision that went beyond generations,” said Garlin Gilchrist II, the new lieutenant governor of Michigan, claiming victory on Tuesday night. “And it’s our generation’s responsibility to live up to that responsibility by having our imaginations exceed our expectations.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/11/black-candidates-who-clinched-house-and-state-races/575491/
I just found out about the 4 newly-elected black state Attorney Generals. I knew about Letitia James, who will become the NY state Attorney General (yes the same position of Eric Schneiderman and Eliot Spitzer fame) and also about Keith Ellison in MN, but did not realize that Aaron Ford won the NV state Attorney General position (replacing a Republican) and Kwame Raoul won the IL state Attorney General position.
When you have folks win state-wide races like this, it is a perfect stepping stone for other state-wide races like Governor or Senator. And a large number of them are actually guess who? Millennials. And as an amazing example, you have Lauren Underwood, who is a 32-year "young" black woman, who upended a 4-term GOP incumbent who had won the district by 19% in 2016 in IL-14 - a district that is 86% white.
The Congressional Black Caucus shown below, appears poised to increase to ~53 members (if I have my math right, knowing Keith Ellison resigned and Mia Love (R) but a member, will probably lose) -
This would put the caucus membership within Congress at a level closer to our percentage in the U.S. population (~12%, with census indicating blacks at ~13%) and would be almost 1/4 of the Democratic caucus.
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Mandela Barnes! What a Cool name.
Nice pic of him and President Obama.. must kill the Fraud
Let's hope Ben McAdams Wins!
Thanks, BRDS!
to count our chickens before it's official.
But that would be so Grand!
and getting that good experience at how to organize and run for office. Seeing them winning the at-large state positions and congressional seats, is a bonus.
LETITIA JAMES (NY)
KWAME RAOUL (IL)
KEITH ELLISON (MN)
AARON FORD (NV)
KWAME RAOUL (IL)
KEITH ELLISON (MN)
AARON FORD (NV)
and can join with Democratic AGs from other states in any myriad of cases against this current administration. 
To have 100 women in Congress itself (increasing from 84), is a huge step forward!
